System and method for assisting a buyer in selecting a supplier of goods or services

Abstract

A method for assisting buyers in selecting a supplier of a good or service begins by receiving a price quote for the good or service from the supplier. A request is then submitted to an insurance company requesting the company to issue a policy for reimbursing the buyer for economic damage the buyer may realize as a result of purchasing the good or service from the supplier. The insurance company assesses the risk of insuring the buyer based on information about the buyer and supplier stored in a database. Preferably, the information about the buyer is conveyed electronically to the insurance company over the internet. Also, the risk assessment is preferably all performed in software. A decision on whether to offer the insurance policy to the buyer is then made if a favorable risk assessment is returned. The buyer then decides whether to accept the policy by performing a comparative analysis which involves determining whether the sum of the supplier's costs plus the cost of the insurance policy is greater than or less than the price which the buyer's existing supplier is charging him for the goods or services.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention generally relates to selecting suppliers of goods or services, and more particularly to a system and method which allows a buyer to make an informed decision in selecting a supplier and for then insuring the buyer against any economic damage which may result from that selection. [0003] 2. Background Description [0004] Buyers, both individual and corporate, are faced with the continuing challenge of purchasing goods or services in the most cost-efficient manner possible. In making this decision, there are various trade-offs to consider. Perhaps the most important trade-off involves striking a balance between cost and quality. It is the objective of every buyer to select the supplier who will provide the highest quality goods and services for the cheapest possible price. By making the right selection, buyers can improve their balance sheets and, simultaneously, benefit the consumer by passing alo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method which serves as an objective tool for assisting buyers in deciding which of a plurality of suppliers is the best choice for meeting the buyer's specific needs.

[0013] It is another object of the present invention to allow the buyer to make the final decision of selecting a supplier based on the insurance company's recommendation, specifically by computing an effective price (derived, for example, by adding the supplier's cost for the requested goods or services and the premium price of the insurance policy) and then comparing this effective price with the price charged by at least one other supplier of the goods or services. The one other supplier may be an existing supplier of the buyer.

[0014] These and other objects of the invention are realized by creating a new class of insurance so that if any problems arise as a result of the award of the supply contract, the buying company receives money from the insurance company which it can use to address or resolve the problems. This, in turn, motivates suppliers to document their capabilities to the insurance companies in order to achieve a low-risk insurance rating, and further to allow dynamic procurement systems to operate at the buying company.

[0015] Using a dynamic procurement system, the buying company may add a “per-unit insurance cost” to a “cheaper-supplier unit cost” to compute an “effective unit cost.” If this effective unit cost is less than the price of an existing supplier, the buyer may choose to order from the new supplier with the added confidence that the order would be at least partially protected by the insurance policy issued by the insurance company. If the effective unit cost is more than the price of an existing supplier, or of the insurance policy is not offered in the first place, the system and method of the present invention advantageously provides the buyer with an objective basis from which to conclude that the new supplier is unacceptable.

Problems solved by technology

For example, a high premium price would convey to the buyer that there is a high risk associated with buying from the supplier.

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